Vehicle-fender.



A. J. DUFFY.

VEHICLE FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 12, 1915.

I 1,185,385, Patented May30, 1916.

2 $HEETS-SHEET I. I

WITNESSES: INVENTOR A. J. DUFFY.

VEHICLE FENDER. V APPLICATIION FILED OCT-12.1915- 1 185 385. Patented May 30,1916. E 2 SHEETSSHEET 2- 9 F E i Y AV' 6 i: i 79 9 WITNESSES: I IIVVEIVTOR 4 Q0652 Jfizz/fg By A TTORNEVS LUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0., WASHINGTON n c ALBERT JOHN DUFFY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

VEHICLE-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May so, rare.

7 Application filed October 12, 1915. Serial No. 55,521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J DUFFY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide an improved automatic fender having a pivoted net or apron supporting frame adapted to tilt upon an object being deposited thereon into position for retaining the object out of contact with the ground.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved fender having a roller arranged at its forward portion adapted to be set into operation when the fender is lowered whereby to rotate for moving an object which has been engaged by the fender upon the tilting apron. p

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved fender of the class described which will be extremely simple, durable, eflicient in operation, and inexpensive to manufacture.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several figures, of which Figure 1 represents a top plan view of a fender constructed according to my inven tion. Fig. 2 represents a view in side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 represents a view in side elevation showing the fender in folded position. Fig. 4: represents a View in sectlon taken longitudinally on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 represents a view in section taken transversely on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 represents a View in section taken longitudinally on the plane indicated by the line 6-6 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 7 represents a vertical sectional view taken through the fender showing the same in closed or folded position. Fig. 8 represents a perspective view of one of the frame supporting arms.

The invention involves generally the pro vision of a fender having a net or apron supporting frame which upon engagement 7 with an object and the precipitation of said ing the movement of the obstacle with which the fender is in contact upon the apron.

The drawings represent one embodiment which my invention may take, and in the drawings the device is shown as being applied to a street car. It is capable of being used, however, in connection with automoblile, trucks, and indeed various other vehi- 0 es.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, at 5 are indicated brackets which may be secured in any suitable manner to the forward portion of the vehicle with which the fender is associated. These brackets are provided with channels between the walls of which the rear ends of supporting arms 6 are pivoted. Connected in suitable manner to the vehicle between the brackets 5 is a substantially inverted U-shaped support or arch 7. To the latter is connected the upper portion of an apron or net 8. The latter may be formed of wire, rope or cable mesh, or may be if desired constructed of strong canvas or other textile material. The lower portion of the-apron is connected to and supported upon a substantially rectangular frame 9 which at points rearwardly of its center is provided with outwardly extending pins 10 journaled in eyes 11 provided at the forward ends of the supporting arms 6. A transversely extending bar or rod 12 provided adjacent the forward portion of the frame, serves as means upon which the lower end of the net or apron is anchored.

A roller 13 of suitable dimensions, and composed preferably of rubber or other resilient material, is journaled for rotation upon the front bar of the frame 9, and carried at each end of this roller 13 is a pinion 14. The roller 13 is adaptedto be driven so that its upper surface moves toward the fender, when the latter is in lowered posi- I tion, through the medium of mechanism including ground wheels 15 journaled in brackets 16 carried by the side bars of frame 9 adjacent the forward portion of said frame, said ground wheels being equipped with pinions 17. Through the medium of gearing 18 arranged between th pinionsld and 16 rotation is imparted from the ground wheels to the roller. These wheels 15, as indicated in Fig. 6, in which the frame is shown in lowered position, are placed at a slight distance below the roller 13, so that the latter will not Contact with the ground.

By reason of the fact that the'frame 9 is pivoted rearwardly of the center, and because of the weight of roller 13 and its driving mechanism, the forward portion of the frame tends to tilt downwardly toward the ground. In order to prevent contact of the forward portion of the fender with the ground, except at the will of the opera 'tor of the vehicle, I have provided means for holding the frame at such inclination as to maintain its forward portion out of contact with the ground. This means includes a lever or other suitable device 19 carried by the vehicle and extending through a slot or opening in the floor thereof. The lower end of the vehicle is connected by a link 20 with a slide 21 frictionally retained between guide-ways 22 provided on the floor of the vehicle. This slide 21 has a depending arm 23 to which is connected the rear end of a v retractile spring 24. The forward end of this spring is suitably connected to the rear bar of the frame 9. The tension of pring 24 is great enough when the lever is in the position indicated in Fig. 2, to retain the frame out of ground engaging position. When the operator of the vehicle, however, sees that an object is about to be encountered, he can shift the upper end of the lever rearwardly, thereby moving slide 22 forwardly and hence by decreasing the tension of the spring 24, allow the forward end of the frame to drop into engagement with the earth. By throwing the upper end of the lever forwardly, he can when desired again bring the frame out of ground engaging position.

When an object is encountered by the fender, it will, through the action of the roller 13 and the momentum of the vehicle, be precipitated upon the rear portion of the frame, and the weight of the obstacle will thus depress the rear portion of the frame and raise the forward portion thereof, so that in this manner the object is maintained out of engagement with the ground until it has been removed from the fender.

The fender is adapted, when not in operation, to be folded up into position indicated in Figs. 3 and 7. For this purpose the arms 4 are provided adjacent their central portions with inwardly extending stops 25 in the nature of plates. These stops are adapted to be engaged by the rear portions of frame 9 when the forward end thereof is raised, so that continued upward movement of the frame will carry the arms 6 with it into the folded position indicated. A catch or hook 26 suitably suspended from the yoke 7 on the upper portion of the apron, may be utilized in engaging the frame or the lower portion of the apron, in order to retain the fender in folded position. In order to prevent accidental raising of the arms 6 when the fender is in operative position, there is provided a bar 27 extending transversely across the vehicle and which is journaled in the brackets 5. This bar is equipped at one or both ends as desired with suitable hand holds 28 whereby it may be rotated at will. Carried by the bar in such position as to engage in the channels and against notches 29 formed on the arms 6, are fingers or detents 30. WVhen the latter are in the position indicated in Fig. 4, the arms 6 will be maintained in outwardly extending horizontal position. Before the fender can be raised the rod 27 is rotated rearwardly in order to raise the detents 30 out of engagement with arms 6. The means for varying the tension of spring 24 in order to raise and lower frame 9 may if desired be dispensed with and the rear end of the spring be fixedly connected to the vehicle. In such case the frame will normally be retained in the position indicated in Fig. 2, and upon striking an object the forward end of the frame Will be lowered until the wheels 15 engage the ground, whereupon the roller 14; will be driven toward the frame. At the same time, the momentum of the vehicle will aid in depositing the obstruction upon the rear portion of the frame, so that the latter will swing up into position for supporting the object out of engagement with the earth.

Although I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I may desire to make such changes in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts thereof, as do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a fender, the combination of a pair of brackets, arms pivotally connected each at its rear end to one of the brackets, a substantially rectangular frame pivotally connected rearwardly of its center with the arms adjacent the outer ends of the latter, a vertically arranged support, an apron con nected at its upper end to the support and at its lower end being supported by and connected to said frame, a roller journaled upon the forward portion of said frame, ground wheels carried by the frame, transmission means between said roller and ground wheels whereby the former may be driven when the wheels come in contact with the ground, a spring connected with the rear portion of the frame for normally maintaining the forward portion thereof out of engagement with the ground, and means for decreasing and increasing the tension of the spring at will whereby to lower or raise the forward portion of said frame.

2. In a fender, the combination of a pair of brackets, arms pivotally connected to the brackets, a frame pivotally connected at points rearwardly of its center to said arms, a substantially vertically arranged support, an apron connected at its rear end to the support and at its forward end being connected to and supported by said frame, stops carried by said arms and adapted to be engaged by the rear portion of the frame when the forward portion thereof is raised, whereby continued raising motion of the frame will move the arms upwardly into vertical position, a rod journaled on the brackets, and fingers carried by said rod and adapted to be turned into engagement with said arms at will, for retaining them in outwardly eX- tended position.

3. In a fender, the combination of an apron supporting frame pivotally connected at points rearwardly of its center with a vehicle, a roller journaled upon the forward bar of the frame, means carried by the frame and adapted to drive said roller toward said frame when the forward portion of said frame is lowered into contact with the ground, a spring connected at one end to the rear portion of the frame, a slide to which the rear end of the spring is connected, and

means forshifting the slide whereby to increase and diminish the tension of the spring at will, substantially as described.

4. In a fender, the combination of supporting arms, a frame pivoted off center to the supporting arms and having its heavier end arranged forwardly of the arms, an apron supported by the frame, resilient means for normally maintaining the forward end of the frame out of ground engaging position and means for adjusting the tension of the resilient means at will.

5. In a fender, the combination of a pivoted normally forwardly inclined frame, an apron supported thereby, resilient means for normally maintaining the frame out of ground engaging position, and means for adjusting the tension of the resilient means at will.

ALBERT JOHN DUFFY. Witnesses:

L. DE. PooR'rER, S. S. STUB.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. l 

